Railway-spike.



R. H. LUNT.

RAILWAY SPIKE.

APPLICATION man nzcm. um.

I Patented J 11116 13, 1916.

I gmmz Lun 7. v

UNITED srarss PATENT orrrcn.

RUEL H. LUNT, OF SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-SPIKE.

Application filed December 31, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, RUEL H. LUNT, a citizenof the United States, residing at South Villiamsport, in the county ofLycoming and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railway-Spikes, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to railway spikes.

The objects of the invention are to provide a spike that may readily beseated and be thoroughly efi ective in holding a rail in place, andwhich may, with comparative ease, and without injury to the sleeper, beremoved when necessary; to construct the point in such manner as tocause it readily to penetrate a sleeper without undue rupture of thegrain thereof and of a contour that will insure a close contact betweenthe point and wood through its entire length as well as with the shank;and generally to present a spike in which any weakening of the shank tosecure a positive interlocked relation with the sleeper will positivelybe precluded.

In carrying the invention into practice, there is provided a spikehaving the usual or any preferred form of head, and a shank preferablyquadrangular in cross-section.

. The novelty of the invention resides in the novel construction of thespike point and of the sides of the shank adjacent thereto, the resultsecured being the easy seating of the spike, its positive retention inplace against danger of working loose from jars and vibrations, and thefacility with which the spike may be withdrawn from the sleeper. Theseresults are attained by forming the spike point of curvilinearspear-head contour and the sides of the spike adjacent to the head, oncurvilinear lines defining thereby shoulders that are curved downwardlyand outwardly on relatively short arcs, the transverse diameter of theshoulders at their juncture with the point being equal to the likediameter of the shank, and the curves of the point and sides beingstruck from alined centers equally distant from the longitudinal axis ofthe spike shank. The effect of this arrangement is that when the spikeis seated, the point will not make an opening larger than the shank, sothat there will be an intimate contact between the sleeper and the spikethroughout the entire length of the latter, and owing to the dispositionand contour of the shoul- Specification of Letters Patent. P t t d Ju13, 191

Serial No. 69,634.

ders, the wood will close tightly around the latter and thus accentuatethe holding capacity of the spike. In addition, the shoulders operate tofacilitate the removal of the spike, inasmuch as they act as Wedges toexert lateral thrust on the wood so that any rupture of the walls of thespike openmg is prevented.

Further features of novelty will hereinafter, appear.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional viewshowing the spike seated in a sleeper; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view ofthe spike.

The spike embodies a head 1 of any pre ferred shape, a shank 2,preferably quadrangular in cross section, and a point 3 of curvilinearspear-head contour. From the point cl the two opposite sides of theshank are curved inward to the point 0, thence curved outward from c tob forming thereby shoulders 4, and the opposite sides of the point arecurved inward from b to a defining the spear-head contour, the curves at.7) and c d being struck from alined centers equally distant from thelongitudinal aXis of the spike. I

When the spike is being seated the point will out instead of crush itsway, thus forming a spike opening having comparatively smooth walls, andwhen the spike is driven home, the wood will fill in around theshoulders, as shown in Fig. 1. When the spike is removed, the shoulderswill exert a lateral thrust on the wood and thus facilitate withdrawal.

What is claimed is:

A railway spike shank having a point of curvilinear spear-head contourand curvilinear sides adjacent to the point defining shoulders that arecurved on relatively short lines curved downwardly and outwardly, thetransverse diameter of the shoulders at their juncture with the pointbeing equal to the like diameter of the shank, whereby to secure easyseating of the spike and the curves of the point and sides being struckfrom centers equally distant from the longitudinal axis of the spike.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RUEL H. LUNT. Witnesses:

G. L. BULL, J. W. GING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

